The Waltz
by melodyfireprincess
Summary: There's a dance in Cerulean City. Will Ash choose to follow his heart or decide to close himself off from his emotions? And how does Misty feel? Perhaps only time will tell. Kind of funny, really cute. A little heartwarming. Enjoy!


The Waltz

by melodyfireprincess

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but sometimes I wish I was Melody.

It was a beautiful day at the Vermilion City port. The ships were bringing in goods from the Orange Islands, and some passengers decided to come along too, specifically a few islanders from Shamouti.

"Well, Melody, Mom and Dad are busy here doing business concerning the trading supplies, so we're going to be here for a while, probably a few days. Why don't we go out and have some fun?"

Melody was surprised. "You? Want to go out and have fun? It's the apocalypse."

Carol frowned. "I'm serious, Melody. Look, I heard from one of the people on the ship on the way here that in the neighboring city of Cerulean, they're having a celebration and a show. Why don't we go check it out?"

Melody smiled. "Sure! You know I'm always up for a party."

"It's a gym leader celebration, and I know how you want to learn about being a gym leader. You should talk to the one there."

"How'd you know I... Carol! You're not supposed to read my diary!"

"You read mine. Besides, how else am I supposed to know how to meddle in my little sister's life?"

"Carol!"

"I know how you got inspired when Ash saved the world, but you really don't have to be a pokemon trainer to get his attention."

Melody shook her head. "That's not it."

"Hmm?"

"I do think he's cute and all, but I really want Misty to get together with him."

"Why?"

"I don't know. They're just really cute together, and I like to bug her about him. It's no fun if she's bugging me."

"You wouldn't be bothered anyway," Carol said.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"So who is this gym leader we're going to see?"

"There's three of them. Their names are Violet, Lily, and Daisy. They call themselves the 'Sensational Sisters of Cerulean.' From what I've heard, they're pretty popular."

Melody smiled. "They sound cool."

* * *

><p>The next day, the girls headed over to Cerulean, where the festival was in full swing. There were vendors outside screaming out their wares and kids running around. A few people on the streets were even dressed up as water pokemon.<p>

"Must be a water pokemon gym," said Carol.

"Is that... Misty?" Melody asked. "It is! And Ash! What are they doing here?" Melody ran over. Carol followed close behind.

"Melody? What are you doing here?" Misty cried.

"Well, my parents came to Vermilion port to drop off some trade items, and while we were near here, I figured I'd come over and see the show. And it looks like I got here at the perfect time."

"You did. This is the fifth year my sisters and I have been gym leaders, and today starts the celebration."

"You're... a gym leader?"

Misty nodded.

"Wow, that's so cool!"

Misty smirked. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool."

"Who's this?" Melody asked, pointing at the teenage guy beside Ash and Misty.

"Oh, that's Brock. He didn't come to the Orange Islands with us."

"Nice to meet you," said Melody. "Um... hello?"

Brock was staring off into the distance at... another girl.

"Who's that? She looks familiar..." Misty said.

"I know who that is," said Ash. "You can't forget a girl like that. But why is she walking with Joe?"

"Joe? Why does that name sound familiar? Oh, no..." Misty cringed as she realized who the two people were.

"Hello, Misty."

"Hi, Giselle. Hi, Joe. What brings you two here?"

"All of Pokemon Tech is on a holiday," said Joe. "So I thought maybe Giselle would like to come to the celebration with me. I heard there's a dance."

"Good thing we went shopping," said Carol.

Giselle made a face, then quickly smiled, trying to cover it. "Yeah, Joe and I are friends now," she said, accentuating the word 'friends.' "Oh, and my Cubone evolved into a Marowak since I saw you last. Did your Pikachu evolve?"

"Pika." Pikachu emerged from behind Ash's leg, holding a bowtie.

"Cute, it wants to get festive!"

Ash gave her a half smile. "Neither Pikachu or I want it to evolve... and I think it's cute that it wants to get festive, too." Ash tied the blue bowtie onto Pikachu's neck. "There. You look good, Pikachu."

"Pika!"

"Well, the dance doesn't start until tonight... why don't we all hang out until it's time to get ready?"

"Then I guess we have to leave now, Misty. We know how long it takes you to get ready."

"That's not funny!" Misty cried, while everyone else chuckled.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Carol and Melody got dressed and headed back to Cerulean for the dance. They entered a large room with a lot of people inside. On the other side of the room was a stage where four girls stood. Three of them stood in a group around the microphone, and the fourth girl stood off to the side. The fourth girl was Misty, the first three were her sisters. Everyone was dressed up for the occasion. Violet, Lily, and Daisy were wearing red, yellow, and blue dresses that flowed out when they spun around. Misty wore a similar dress in white with minor changes. Carol was wearing a forest green sleeveless gown with white gloves. Melody wore a poofy gold dress with puff sleeves that looked a little like Cinderella's dress. As the sisters looked around, they saw Giselle and Joe, who were dressed in an elegant navy blue gown with long white gloves and a freshly pressed suit, respectively. Ash and Brock were dressed in suits too, and Pikachu was still wearing its sharp blue bowtie.<p>

After the Cerulean sisters made a speech, the music started and Carol got lost in the crowd.

"May I have this dance?" Brock asked Melody, almost jokingly. He was a little old for her, but she agreed anyway, laughing. They danced to the fast music while Giselle sat pretty on the side next to Joe. Her excuse? She didn't dance. Yeah, right.

Misty sat alone on the stage, watching the people while her sisters grabbed various random boys and danced with them. Ash hung over by the punch table. "What is it, Pikachu?"

"Pika. Pika pi."

Ash looked up. Misty had her chin on her hand, and she let out a sigh.

"Pika."

"I can't, Pikachu."

"Pika pi."

"What if she says no?"

"Pika, pikachu."

The song ended and a slow waltz began. Ash gulped.

"Pika, pikachuu," Pikachu said, pushing Ash over to the stage. Ash shook his head. "No, I don't wanna!" But when Misty looked up and he was there, he had no explanation and Pikachu had left him there alone with her.

"Misty."

"Ash." She barely looked up.

He gulped. "May I have... this dance?"

Misty looked up. He held out his hand to her, and he had a grin on his face. A stupid grin, yes, but not his usual stupid grin. There was something different about it this time.

"Yes," she said, allowing him to take her into his arms.

"Please dance with me," Joe said, holding his hand out to Giselle. She sighed, and finally stood up. "Oh, alright."

Brock and Melody had stopped dancing at this point, and were talking and laughing at the punch table. "Hey, is that-?"

"Yeah, it's Ash and Misty!"

"Dancing!"

"Together!"

"Wow, this is weird!" Melody giggled happily. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for this to happen!"

"Oh, I have an idea," Brock said.

* * *

><p>Outside, a very well-dressed Jessie and James stood by the door.<p>

"Nice celebration," James said, looking through a window.

"Yes, and what's a good celebration without Team Rocket to crash it?"

"For that matter," said James, "what's a pokemon fan fiction without Team Rocket?"

Jessie smiled. "Exactly. Looks like it's time for them to prepare for trouble."

"Actually, Jess..."

"What is it, James?"

He swallowed. "On second thought, Jessie, why don't we stay out here? The moon is bright, the music is beautiful, and no Meowth is here to bug us."

" You're not chickening out, are you, James?"

"Quite the opposite," he said rather seductively.

Jessie's eyes widened. "Wha...?"

* * *

><p>Inside, the couples continued to waltz. Every so often Ash spun Misty out and her dress would flow out around her, and then he'd spin her closer to him. Misty couldn't believe what was happening. She wished it would never stop. She also wished Ash was always this nice... and he didn't even step on her toes! Not even on accident!<p>

Finally, the waltz ended and Misty's sisters disappeared behind the stage. "I wonder where they're going?" Misty asked. A few minutes later they emerged in sexy bunny costumes and started a really strange, really drunk dance routine... if one could call what they were doing dancing.

"Well, this is something I didn't know about," Misty said nonchalantly, refusing to let something this stupid ruin her perfect night.

Ash blushed a deep red. "Let's go somewhere else... it's getting kind of cramped in here."

"Yeah, let's go." Misty started out the door, but then stopped when she saw Jessie and James moving in for a kiss. "Whoa, different route," she said, not wanting him to see them and turning a deeper shade of red than Ash had.

They came to a garden outside of the Cerulean gym. Misty sat on the edge of the fountain in the middle and patted the area next to her so Ash would sit there. He did, and just kind of looked at her for a while.

"Something wrong?" Misty asked.

"No, nothing's... wrong."

"How are you feeling? You don't seem like yourself." Shut up, Misty told herself. Do you want him to turn back into the old Ash?

"I feel... right," Ash said.

Misty leaned her head to the side. "That doesn't make any sense..." She trailed off when Ash put his face closer to hers. She felt his breath on her chin, and in return, her heart started racing and her own breath got quicker. In a panic, she pushed him away... right into the fountain! Then she realized what she had done.

"Oh, my gosh, Ash!" she cried, pulling him out of the fountain. "I'm sorry! Look, I'll get you a towel and you can dry off in the bathroom. I know I've got to have an old T-shirt and shorts you can wear somewhere."

Ash nodded slowly, completely out of it. Why had Misty pushed him away? He felt hurt, and he didn't know why. But he didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

Sighing, he looked into the fountain and saw his reflection. Anyone else would have seen a lone boy and not have a problem with it. But Ash reflected on the "lone" part.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back inside, Brock gawked over how pretty Misty's sisters were. "Gawrsh," he said, sounding a bit like Goofy. Melody rolled her eyes. "I'm outta here for now." She walked outside to find Jessie and James staring into each other's eyes with not a care in the world.<p>

"Oops, wrong exit," she muttered, taking a different path. Finally she found the garden. She saw a dark outline of a figure sitting on the fountain, and made her way towards it. "Ash?" she asked slowly. "How did you get all wet?"

Ash looked at Melody. All he could think about was how different Misty's face was compared to hers and how much he wanted to see that one instead. He sighed. "Misty..."

"What about Misty?" Inside, Melody smiled with glee, hoping for something juicy.

"She pushed me in the fountain."

"Aww." Melody frowned, with the little puff in her cheek that Jigglypuff gets when it's mad. "Why did she do _that_?"

Ash looked at his feet. "I don't know."

"Well, I'm going to get to the bottom of this," Melody said, standing up.

"Don't... make her mad at me, okay?"

"Huh? That's a weird request."

"I just... don't want her mad at me. It's very hard to say things around her, and she's always mad at me for something or another, and... I just wanted tonight to be special."

Melody's face softened. "I understand."

Misty looked at the two of them from inside, standing next to the window with an old T-shirt and a pair of jeans. All of her shorts were way too short for Ash to wear. Not that she really minded seeing more skin. Whoa, pace yourself, she thought. He might not even... no. She shivered. I can't think like that. She took a deep breath, and proceeded outside. "Here, Ash. There's a bathroom right when you walk inside. Take a left."

Ash took the clothes and left wordlessly.

"Why did you push him in the fountain?" Melody asked.

Misty made a face. "I ...didn't mean to."

Melody turned her head to the side. "If you didn't mean to, then why...?"

"I got scared!" Misty cried.

"Hmm?"

"His face was close to mine, and he... he..."

Melody gasped. "Did he kiss you?"

"No," Misty said, "but he almost did."

"NOOOO!" cried Melody. "That's even worse!"

"What? What'd I do?" Misty cried.

Melody shook her head. "You pushed him away before he could kiss you? Now he probably thinks that you don't like him!"

"But I-"

"You _do_ like him, Misty. I don't care what you say, you do. You need to face those feelings head on, and only then can you face Ash."

"Do I... have to tell him?" Misty asked, her face white.

"Eventually..."

"Oh, no! I can't do that!"

"You will be ready when the time comes," Melody said. "And you know, actions speak louder than words. But you still have to communicate. Communication is essential to a good relationship. If you go around calling him your boyfriend before he knows for sure that you two _are _in fact, boyfriend and girlfriend, then that's bad. And-"

"Melody!"

"What?"

"You lost me."

"Oh." Melody hesitated. "It will come to you, Misty, if it's important to you, and I know it is. So don't worry."

Misty sighed. "I'm very tired... I need to go to bed."

Melody grinned pervertedly. "So does Ash, I bet."

"Melody!"

"Just kidding!" Melody waved her hands in front of her face. Yeah right, she thought. If I'm kidding, then the sky is bright green. Which, it's not.

* * *

><p>Inside of the bathroom, Ash sat on the sink, holding the clothes in his hands and staring down at them. His brain couldn't seem to make him function properly. All he could muster was the thought of her face.<p>

"Wonder what's taking Ash so long," Misty wondered as she followed Melody back inside. Her sisters had long since finished their playboy bunny routine and were now drunkenly chatting with Brock. Melody giggled at his pathetic-ness and went to join her own sister over at the punch table.

"Melody..."

"What's with the stern voice, Carol? I haven't done anything wrong."

Carol looked at Melody with a no-nonsense glare. "You've been meddling again. I can tell."

"Aww!" Melody cried.

Finally, Ash came out, but it wasn't the same after that. He didn't come talk to or even look at Misty. Instead, he just stared at his hands.

What have I done? Misty wondered. He's not even noticing Pikachu. Something's definitely wrong.

"Are you feeling okay, Misty?" Lily asked. The four sisters stayed after the party to clean up. It had lasted so long that Lily, Violet, and Daisy had sobered up a little, enough to notice that their little sister wasn't feeling good. And that was unacceptable, unless they made her feel that way themselves.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Misty said with a wave of her hand."

"Yeah. Right," Daisy said. "Don't think we can't see through that ruse."

"Something's up," Violet said. "And if you don't tell us, we're gonna have to force it out of you."

"It's Ash," Misty said.

"That was quick." Daisy voiced. All three girls were surprised. "What happened?"

"I pushed him in the fountain," Misty muttered.

Daisy laughed.

"Why did you push him in the fountain?" Lily wondered.

"Did he try to kiss you?" Violet queried.

"Um... I think he might have... that's what I thought he was doing, and I was scared, and I wasn't thinking..."

"Sounds like you're in love!" Daisy said in a sing-song voice.

"No way... that's too... cliché."

Her sisters glared at her. "There's no use denying it."

"You have valid feelings," Violet urged. "Why don't you just listen to your heart for once? Stop denying everything!"

"The first thing to do is apologize for pushing him away," said Daisy. "I'm sure he took that badly. He probably thinks you don't like him anymore."

"Ohhh," Misty groaned.

"Did he talk to you after that happened?" Violet asked.

"No, he just kind of sat on the side and looked at the ground."

"You've got to apologize right away and make it up to him somehow. It's going to be difficult."

"I can't!"

"Can't what?"

"I can't even talk to him, much less say I'm sorry!"

"Well, sorry _is_ the hardest word," Lily said, grinning.

"Okay, no more chardonnay for you after midnight," Violet said, frowning at Lily.

"Yeah," agreed Daisy. "We don't need corny references like that. Team Rocket covers that area enough already."

Misty laughed once.

"Aww, come on, lighten up a little. Everything'll turn out alright," Violet said with a smile.

"I wish I could believe that," Misty said.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, we know you can do it." Lily pat her shoulder. "You're related to us, you can do anything."

Misty smiled. "I guess it's worth a try."

Daisy put her face close to Misty's. "Come on, Sis. I _know_ Ash is worth more than a try to you."

Misty blushed.

"So, have you decided when to act yet?" Lily asked.

"What?"

"You have to do it before the celebration's over," Violet said.

"Why?"

"Because!" Violet's eyes sparkled. "We want to know how it turns out!"

After the girls had finished cleaning, they all went to bed. Misty's house had a couple of guest rooms and for tonight, one was designated as a girls' room and the other as a boys' room. Melody and Carol slept in one room while Ash and Brock slept in the other. Misty crept outside of her room and down the hall to the boys' room. As soon as she got the door open a crack, she heard a whisper behind her.

"And what are we doing spying on the boys this late at night?"

Misty whirled around, her face white.

It was Melody! She wore a pair of pajamas with chibi Lugias on them and a smirk on her face. Cute, Misty thought, but cute pajamas aren't going to save her from my disappointment... I wonder if I should just come clean. She might even stop teasing me!

"I'm going to tell Ash something very important, and I would very much like it if you didn't listen in on us."

"Oohhhhh." Melody smiled. "Are you going to confess your undying love to him?"

"Something like that- I mean, Melody! Are you ever going to stop?"

Melody fell to the floor with laughter. "Oh, I'll never stop teasing you! It's too much fun!" She stood up, regaining her composure. "But I will leave you two alone- for now. And I want to hear _details_ later."

Misty nodded. "Sure, whatever."

"Okay." Melody left.

Misty opened the door a creak more to see Ash's face pop in front of her. She let out a small squeal.

"What are you doing?" Ash asked sleepily.

"I couldn't sleep," Misty said.

Neither could I, Ash thought. No way he was going to let her know that. "I was sleeping just fine."

Pikachu rolled its eyes from its perch on Ash's bed.

"Look," Misty began. "I'm sorry I pushed you in the fountain. I was just... scared."

"Of what?"

"Of what? Heh heh heh... that's a very good question. Yes, a very good question indeed..."

Ash narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to sleep."

"No!" Misty cried. "Please... please forgive me!"

"For what?" Ash probed.

"I... I... I don't know!"

"You don't?" Ash repeated. "Well then, I guess you don't care."

"I do care!" Misty cried. "I care a lot, I just..." she sighed. "This is very hard for me to do."

Ash perked up a little. "What did you say?"

"Uh... this is hard for me?"

"No, before that."

"Oh, uh... I... um... I..."

"You're sweating," Ash said.

"Am I?" Misty put a hand to her cheek. It was wet.

"You must be really flustered," Ash teased. "Is something _wrong_?"

"Stop it, Ash! I'm being serious!"

"So am I," Ash said.

"What? You don't make any sense."

Ash sighed. "All day, I've been trying to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"But I thought it was obvious. Brock said girls always jump to those kinds of conclusions really fast."

"What conclusions?"

"So I thought you'd get the message a lot quicker than this."

"_What message_?" Misty screamed.

Ash sighed resolutely. "They say actions speak louder than words."

"I've heard that."

"But actions don't seem to work with you."

"Uhhhh..." Misty blinked. "Maybe you just have to repeat them for emphasis. Like... the underline effect."

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind. The grammatical approach won't work with you."

"How do you know?" Ash asked defensively.

"I don't, I'm sorry." Misty looked at the ground.

Ash took a deep breath. "I have two choices."

"What are they?" Misty asked, looking into his eyes. For what? Perhaps an answer. Whatever it was, she didn't get it.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Ash said, shutting the door in her face.

She slumped to the floor. "Nooooo... Ash, please... why are you doing this to me?"

On the other side of the door, Ash sat on the floor with his ear pressed next to the door, his breath caught in his throat. He shivered as a tingle went down his spine. Could it be?

* * *

><p>"What's wrong with you? We should be focusing on swiping Pikachu, not dancing!" Meowth appeared next to the couple, who were still moving slowly, though the dance had long since packed up and went to bed.<p>

Jessie and James' thoughts were yanked away from each other. "What dancing? We were... practicing our evil walk."

"Well, unless your evil walk is a waltz, then you're not getting very far," Meowth said.

"No way. Our thoughts are completely on Pikachu," Jessie said.

"That's right. We're going to capture that Pikachu first thing in the morning!" James agreed.

Meowth rolled its eyes. "Fine. A catnap sounds good right now anyway."

"Mmm, good," said Jessie. "Then we'll sleep right here."

"Yes," agreed James. "This grass is rather soft."

Meowth clawed at both of them. "I was kidding. We gotta catch that Pikachu while they're asleep or we'll never get it!"

"Ow, my lambego!" James cried.

"He's right, James. We have much more of a chance getting Pikachu while those twerps are asleep. Let's do it!"

* * *

><p>Misty waited for what felt like forever for Ash to go to sleep. She had no idea what she would do while he was sleeping, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. She really couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried, and every time she came up with something good to say to him, she lost her nerve.<p>

Finally, she felt like she couldn't take it anymore. Maybe she couldn't tell him when he was awake, but she could tell him when he was asleep. And who knows, she thought. Maybe it'll soak into his subconscious and then he'll just know without me telling him! Or, she thought, maybe if she practiced on him while he was asleep, it'd be at least a little easier to say when he was awake.

To her, that seemed like the best idea, so she started singing softly. She sang him a sweet, lovely song that went something like this:

_Out here in the quiet of the night_

_Beneath the stars and moon_

_We both know we've got something on our minds_

_We won't admit, but it's true_

_You look at me, I look away_

_I want to tell you what I'm feeling but I don't know how to start_

_I want to tell you but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart_

_Oh, why should anything this easy ever be so hard to do_

_I want to tell you what I'm feeling and to say that-_

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Oh, no..." Misty's heart sunk. "Team Rocket..."

"Make it double." Jessie and James appeared through a rather convenient- for them- hole in the roof.

"I knew we should have gotten that plugged right after that Gyrados attack happened," Misty muttered.

It started snowing. Small white flakes fell through the hole in the roof.

"Aww, man." Misty frowned. "Our house is going to flood. Why is it even snowing? It's the middle of October!"

Jessie shrugged. "Doesn't bother us! We'll just make snowgasboards!"

"Noooo, not those again!" James cried.

Meowth frowned. "Let's get back to work. That Pikachu's sittin' pretty inside there, waiting for us!"

"Right," James said, bursting through the door. Pikachu hid in the only spot possible, underneath the bed. Ash tried to feign sleep, but it was hard to do that and make sure thieves didn't successfully steal your Pikachu at the same time.

"Haha, we've got it!" Jessie cried, grabbing it and making a mad dash outside.

"No!" Ash cried. He followed the group, Misty trailing close behind.

The team scrambled into their Meowth balloon, which was parked nearby, and lifted off the ground. "Hee hee hee!" James cried. "You'll never reach us now!"

"What would you do-?" Jessie questioned.

"For your Pikachu?" James finished.

They both laughed as the balloon rose into the air.

"That is _it_!"

"Hmm?" The members of Team Rocket looked down.

"You!" Ash pointed at the gang. "You interrupted her song and I never got to hear what she wanted to say!"

Misty's eyes widened. "You were listening?"

"Hey, I couldn't sleep either," Ash admitted. "And _then_!" he cried, "you try to capture Pikachu? _Again_? No way. I _won't_ let you get away with this!"

"PiiiiiikaaaaaaCHUUUUUUU!" A huge thunderbolt rang through the sky, ripping the Meowth balloon to shreds and sending Team Rocket soaring through the sky. Pikachu jumped down into Ash's arms.

"I thought you said that material was shock proof!" James cried as they flew through the air.

"I told you, you didn't give me enough money to buy the special kind!" Meowth replied.

"It, doesn't matter," said Jessie, "because-"

"We're blasting off again!"

Ash caught Pikachu with a flourish, then set it down and gazed at the girl next to him.

Misty blushed. "Hehe... they blasted off again."

"They'll never stop," Ash said.

Misty sighed. "Do you want them to?"

"It would be a lot easier on me, but you know, I'm getting kind of fond of 'em. Can't imagine life without 'em, really."

"Oh," Misty said, turning away from him. "That's great."

"You know, I've been all over the world. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and I've met countless people, and Misty..."

"What?"

"I've never met another girl like you."

"You haven't?"

Ash shook his head. "I looked."

Misty smiled.

"That's part of what I was trying to tell you earlier," he said.

"What's the other part?" she asked.

"You really want to know?"

Misty nodded.

"You won't push me away this time?"

"There's no guarantee," she joked.

Ash smiled and leaned in closer, but as soon as his lips were about to touch hers, he froze.

"What? What is it?" Misty asked. "Are you alright?"

Ash blinked. His eyes were the only part of his body he could move. He tried to open his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Ash? Ash? Are you okay?"

"Pika!" Pikachu gave him a small jolt, which was just enough to get his mouth moving.

"Freezing... Misty... help... Pikachu."

"Pika!"

"It _is _rather cold," Misty admitted. "Maybe you're more susceptible to it than I am. I'm surprised Pikachu can move, it's not wearing any clothes!"

"Take my jacket off... give it to Pikachu..."

"But Ash!"

"Do it... Misty!"

Misty sighed and gave Pikachu Ash's jacket. Pikachu shook its head. "PIKA!" It shocked Ash again, but he shook his head as well. "Pikachu, you're worse off than I am!"

Misty, thinking quickly, hoisted Ash over her shoulder and stuck Pikachu under her shirt.

"Pika!"

"I know it's awkward, Pikachu, but this'll help warm you up."

"Pika."

"Don't worry about me," Ash said. Halfway there, Misty stopped. She just couldn't drag him any farther. "Ash..." she said quietly.

"What?" he croaked.

She hugged him, trying to warm him up too. Pikachu nestled itself between them. "Pikaaaa."

"Thank you, Misty."

She smiled. "But how are we going to get back?"

"We'll have to wait for the storm to pass," Ash said.

"Ash, you'll freeze out here!"

"Just as long as you're okay."

"No! Ash! Please... you have to come inside!"

"I can't..." he whispered.

"You have to!" she cried, breaking down. "I can't live without you!"

Ash's eyes widened. "What?"

"Come on, Ash! I'm serious! We have to get back, we just have to!"

"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed.

Ash blinked. For a moment, his world flashed before his eyes. And then he realized he would have to get back to the house- or die trying. Because his only worry was for Misty and Pikachu to be safe and happy. If they weren't safe, that wasn't good. But if they weren't happy, that wasn't good either. Ash felt an odd stirring feeling within him. It made him feel special, and gave him strength. It also gave him the courage to know that by helping himself, he was also helping Misty and Pikachu.

"Okay, let's go," he said.

Misty smiled. "Yeah."

After what seemed like hours, they got back to the house. Lily, Violet, and Daisy were at work repairing the roof- at least temporarily, and trying to sop up the melting snow before it soaked the carpet and flooded the house.

"I thought it was getting a bit drafty," Lily said.

"Just hold the ladder still," said Violet. "You better not make me fall."

"Hey, Misty. Would you be a dear and get me some more towels?" Daisy asked. Misty nodded and ran off to get some.

"What were you doing outside?" Lily asked.

"Without a shirt?" Violet wondered.

"Oh, my." Daisy winked at him. "What were you doing with Misty out in the snow?"

"For shame," Violet said teasingly.

"It's much too cold to do that outside!" Lily scolded.

"What'd I do?" Ash asked, clueless.

"Here, Daisy. Come on, Ash," Misty said, leading him towards the kitchen. "We've got instant hot chocolate, and there are some blankets in the closet. I think I'll make you and Pikachu some soup, too, to warm you up."

Misty's older sisters watched her lead Ash and Pikachu to the kitchen.

"Wow," said Daisy. "She really does care about him."

Violet smiled. "She's growing up."


End file.
